Chapter Two
Ryan flicked his dying cigarette to the ground and grabbed Theresa's hand, pulling her up the steps and into her house.
Theresa let go of his hand as they reached the kitchen. "Want one?" She pulled the refrigerator door open and pulled out another wine cooler.
"Sure," he answered, sitting down at the small kitchen table he had sat at numerous times before. She walked around the table, leaned over behind him and placed the alcoholic beverage on the counter.
She began to walk out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" he asked, turning around to watch her. "I was just gonna get something," she said, smiling, and left the kitchen.
He could hear her make her way to her own bedroom. Instead of waiting for her he twisted off the top, and took a long swig. Pushing the chair back, he stood up and began walking towards her room.
She was undressing. "Ryan," she said, crossing her arms over her white bra.
Ryan laughed. "It's not like I've never seen you in a bra, woman." He sat down on her bed, kicking his shoes off.
She uncrossed her arms. "This does not mean you are getting any," Theresa said, pulling a white tank top over her head and pulling it down across her shoulders.
He leaned back on her bed. "Oh really?" he smirked, watching her in the mirror. He then knew he had to say it, "My Lolita."
Theresa turned to look at him, ignoring the romanticism of his words. "I am not a Lolita," she argued.
"Are, too: the lips, the body, the teasing. You are a fucking Lolita." He paused, as she looked herself over. "In fact, that's what I'm going to call you from now on".
She turned around and jumped from the floor to the bed, straddling him with her legs. He tipped over placing the wine cooler down on her bureau.
"You will not call me Lolita. My mother will not be proud," she yelled, her face falling onto his chest. He began to stroke her hair and they fell into comfortable silence.
He could smell her violet shampoo and breathed it in, knowingly. Minutes had passed. Ryan opened his lips to speak when Theresa poked her chin into his chest and looked up at him.
The pools of her brown eyes stared longingly into his blue eyes. "Will things always be like this?" she questioned, running her tongue over her lips.
Ryan yearned to taste her lips and tongue. "Like what?" he responded, running his fingers against her curls.
"You and me, like this," she answered, stirring off of him and rolling onto the other side of the bed.
"Come here," he pulled her back to him and she spooned herself into the crook of his waist. "Yes, it will."
He began to imagine their life together when they got older. They'd move out of Chino, get a nice house by the beach, raise a bunch of kids and spend holidays at her mom's house. They would have a better life. He believed things would always be the same for them; that they would always be together, although he never told anyone else. He was convinced Theresa knew he believed that.
"I love you." He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek and in the noise of open windows it became silent. She repositioned her body upwards and climbed upon him again, never muttering that she loved him back but claimed him as her own with her lips across his. His hands pressed along her clothed body. Their hearts pounding against each other's chests. She broke away from the kiss and lifted herself up, threw her arms in the air and let him trace his hands against her skin as he pulled her tank top up.
He knew this drill better then breathing. He had kept count of how many times they could have sex in a day and how many times they'd done it in public. But the numbers had gotten too high to keep track of. She moved in to kiss him again but he constrained his hands against her waist and kept Theresa at a distance.
"I want to look at you," he whispered, his lips wet from her tongue.
Theresa cringed. "Stop," she said, shooing his hands away and pressed her body against his, nibbling on his neck.
He pushed her off him. "Why can't I look at you?" he questioned, looking into her eyes for answers.
She heaved a sigh, rolling over onto the bed.
Ryan moved his body up, watching her. "I can't ask questions," he stated, rolling his eyes.
"It's just, you've seen my body. What is the point of looking at it?" she asked nervously while looking at the ceiling.
He rolled over on top of her, pinning her with his legs. "Do I need a reason?" Ryan smiled.
Theresa covered her face with her hands. "Forget it," she said.
He pulled her hands away from her face. "Don't be like that." He watched her eyelids flutter open.
Theresa was incapable of showing her emotions at times, her true feelings, ever since her father had left when she was younger. She saw men as the enemy and believed that Ryan would eventually leave her and saw no real point in confessing her fears.
"I love your body," he traced his pointed finger down her abdomen and couldn't help but notice how she had developed over the past few years. Everyone always said she'd be beautiful and he would comply because he was her friend but then one day he felt himself waking up from a long daze, finally noticing her physical appearance. He had never loved her for her beauty. Ryan had loved her before anyone else had ever truly noticed her. Now it was impossible not to notice her.
He thought about Eddie noticing her and became anxious.
Theresa quickly interrupted his thoughts. "Well I don't like my body so I guess I'm just a silly little girl," she spat out, feeling completely worthless. She tried to push Ryan away but he wouldn't budge.
"Well you are a silly little girl, but not for those reasons." He leaned over, kissing her. Theresa's lips pressed against his. He could feel a breeze coming in from her open window as he altered his elbows downwards against her bedspread to bring him closer to her.
Ryan slipped his hand underneath the elastic band of her skirt and underwear. Theresa gasped in delight, a cherry flavored smile plastered on her lips. He couldn't help but smile.
She threw her hands over his white T-shirt and shoved it up above his head. He moved his hand away from her while throwing his shirt to the floor. She sat up, reaching for the button on his jeans. Theresa clasped the button in, forcing it to give. Her tiny fingers quickly shifted the zipper down. He watched with impatience and lifted his body up, grabbing at his jeans seconds later and throwing them to the floor.
"Ryan," she breathed, moving her hips up. He slid his hand over her skirt and up to her waist enveloping his fingers around the edges. He pulled it down.
"Theresa," he moaned, feeling her breath on his skin.
The two of them didn't hear the car pull into the driveway. They were too far away, in their own world of touching and probing, (for the first time not biting and scratching), that all sounds aside from their own, had been cast away. Theresa froze when she suddenly heard the screen door open.
"Theresa," her brother yelled, walking into the living room. Theresa's eyes flew open once she heard her brother's voice her dark eyelashes blinking furiously. She kicked Ryan off of her and stumbled to the floor. "Just a minute!" she yelled, reaching for her tank top and skirt.
Ryan watched her scurry to put her clothes on while he casually dragged his jeans up over his legs.
Theresa turned to Ryan. "I'll meet you out there," she quickly whispered nodding her head while fixing her skirt and tucking her hair behind her ears.
Ryan laughed, feeling slightly sick from his own hormones.
Theresa slipped into the hallway. Her bare feet pressed against the wooden floor.
"Hey." She waved to Arturo and then to Eddie who were both sprawled out on the couch. Eddie turned around to look at her. His eyes sank over her, moment by moment. She was completely oblivious to his eyes.
Ryan noticed as he poked his head out the bedroom door, pulling his shirt over his head walking out behind her. He caught Eddie's eye and Eddie adverted his glance by turning back toward the television.
"Did you find Trey?" Ryan asked, stepping closer to Theresa and wrapping his arms around her waist to signify her as his.
Arturo leaned back on the couch, his arm stretched out. He looked over Ryan, then Theresa, and started to laugh. "Yo Eddie, I think we messed up these two's little sex-capades."
Eddie turned toward them and smiled. His eyes focused entirely on Ryan, avoiding any eye contact with Theresa.
"Shut up!" Theresa exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air for dramatic effect. "Oh, I'm sorry. We could leave you two alone to carry on your business."
Ryan looked down at the floor.
"Arturo, do you have any pot?" she asked, leaning back into Ryan.
Sometimes he felt they looked like any other couple in Chino their age. They occasionally held hands as they walked down the block and in school they would kiss before each class. Yet, while he stood in her house with her brother and Eddie, he realized they weren't like other couples.
They'd lost their innocence so young that the only thing they had to ground them was each other. However, at times they weren't really any help to each other. Sometimes they only made things harder for each other to deal with.
"I have some," Eddie responded, standing up and reaching into his pockets. Theresa stepped forward, away from Ryan. Eddie held out a dime and placed it softly into her palm, making sure his fingers touched her skin.
She smiled up at him, "Thanks. How much?" she asked turning around to walk back to her room.
"It's on the house," Eddie answered, sitting back down.
Arturo looked over at Ryan and mouthed 'see'. Ryan shook his head and then made a face.
"Awe. Thank you," Theresa beamed. "C'mon Ryan, let's go to the store." She twisted her body around.
He could tell she was looking for her sandals. He spotted them across the room. "Over there," he pointed to the spot where the couch ended and a pile of books began.
Her lips swept into a smile. He smiled with her.
"Trey was at work. He won't be done till later," Arturo finally answered Ryan's earlier question.
Ryan started to walk towards the screen door, watching Theresa slip her sandals on out of the corner of his eye.
"There's a party later though," Eddie looked over at Ryan. "Over at that chick Marie's house."
Theresa gasped. "I hate that girl."
They all turned to her, waiting for an explanation.
"What?" Her eyes darted back and forth between the three of them.
Arturo ran the palm of his hand over his face. "Ai, Mios".
"Why don't you like her?" Eddie asked, stating the obvious question.
Theresa shifted from one foot to the other. "She just gets on my nerves."
They all nodded their heads.
"Well you and Ryan are going. Trey wants Ryan there and well that means…" Arturo trailed off.
Theresa opened her lips, which were fading from a dark red color to pink. "That means I go." She looked over at Ryan and he winked at her, causing her to giggle like a little schoolgirl.
"Oh my god. Get out. What a girl. We'll meet back here by eight," her brother stated, making the plans for all of them.
Ryan watched Eddie as Theresa glided across the room. His eyes fixated on her. He realized that what he believed about them could easily be taken away. The way Eddie watched her felt threatening. Eddie was older and had always had girls around him.
Then again, that was no different from Ryan himself. The only thing they didn't have in common was age and the fact that Theresa loved Ryan. He kept saying it over and over in his head, she loves me, she loves me, she loves me, until she reached him and slid her arm past his shoulder, opening the screen door.
"C'mon, lets go." She pushed past him. He stumbled out with her. "Hold this." She handed him the dime and he stuffed it in his pocket.
"I never finished painting your nails." He reached over and grabbed her hand, looking over her pale nails.
Theresa shrugged. "We got all the time in the world, don't we?" she said, her doe-like eyes glimpsing over at him. She smiled, and her dimples materialized on her cheeks.
"Always." He dropped her hand to her side while they began to walk up the block to the corner store.